“It is my personal mission to care for others, and I’ve always wanted to do it globally…I can see any patient, anytime, anywhere in the world.”
Across the world, few health professionals embody the extraordinary vision, passion, and impact that have become the hallmarks of Professor Tochi Iroku-Malize’s life and work. So broad is the scope of her influence that it is sometimes difficult to simply define her by the title of family physician. Her mission, as she often describes it, is about more than medicine. It is about helping people and communities to “be better, to do better and to live better.”
That ethos has consistently driven her engagements and commitments, from consulting rooms to lecture halls, from grassroots initiatives to international forums, from face-to-face discussions to online platforms, where she has become a leading voice on healthy and positive living, equity, leadership and the future of family medicine. For more than 30 years, she has stood at the forefront of clinical practice, research, academia and advocacy, advancing care for both providers and patients across local, national, and international communities.
She is widely-acclaimed for redefining health systems, shaping health policies and inspiring generations of practitioners, all with the singular purpose of making healthcare not only more effective, but more humane. She has championed global and planetary health, explored the potential of clinical informatics, fought for the wellbeing of women and children, and advocated for those with special needs.
Unsurprisingly, Iroku-Malize’s uncommon dedication has positioned her to hold some of the most visible leadership roles in organised medicine. These include serving as president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) from 2022 to 2023. In that capacity, she led and represented over 130,000 family physicians and medical students across the United States, serving as their voice in policy discussions and public forums. She guided the AAFP’s strategic priorities, including workforce development, advocacy for fair payment models, and strengthening the role of family physicians in addressing public health challenges.
She also served as chair of the AAFP Board of Directors, which placed her at the centre of national conversations about primary-care access, maternal health, reimbursement reform, clinician burnout, and the redesign of the US primary-care workforce.
Current exploits
Iroku-Malize is presently senior vice-president and chair of Family Medicine for Northwell Health, where she leads one of the largest and most complex family-medicine enterprises in the United States. Across 21 top-rated hospitals, nearly 900 outpatient facilities, and numerous community practices, she guides the clinical standards, training pathways, and strategic priorities that keep family medicine central to the health system’s mission.
She is also the founding chair and professor of Family Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Thriving within her academic purview her four residency programmes, several fellowships, more than a hundred residents, and a bustling community of faculty and medical students. Under her guidance, the department has become known not only for rigorous training but also for cultivating clinicians who combine clinical competence with the emotional intelligence needed for family practice.
She also holds elected and appointed roles with other influential bodies, including the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA), the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and the Association of Departments of Family Medicine. She is also member-at-large for the Academic Physicians Section Governing Council of the American Medical Association, a post that shapes policy affecting medical education and the physician workforce.
Journey to Greatness
Born in the late ‘60s to a surgeon father and a nurse mother, medicine was woven early into the tapestry of Iroku-Malize’s life. But the decision to choose family medicine – instead of surgery, which initially attracted her – came through the family’s extensive travels. Each new country revealed different health systems, different burdens of disease, and different struggles of ordinary people trying to find their footing in fragile health environments.
“I wanted to save the world,” she recalls, with an earnestness that has guided every milestone since. She needed a specialty that would equip and allow her to treat any person, of any age, living with any condition. She found that calling in family medicine.
Tochi Iroku-Malize trained at the University of Nigeria College of Medicine and Dentistry in Enugu, then completed an internship at Port of Spain General Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago before undertaking family medicine residency at Southside Hospital in New York. Her decision to choose family medicine, a speciality she describes as a calling rather than merely a career, grew from early exposure to diverse health systems during family travels and from the conviction that family doctors can “see any patient, anytime, anywhere.” Those words have become a leitmotif in a career that deliberately crosses clinical, academic and policy boundaries.
Never content with a single lens on healthcare, she augmented her clinical training with systems-level skills: a Master of Public Health in Health Policy & Management from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts. These qualifications have allowed her to move fluidly between patient care and executive responsibilities, and to translate frontline experience into organisational strategy. Her board certifications – Family Medicine in 2002 and Hospice & Palliative Medicine in 2010 – mark formal milestones in a clinical career that has also embraced medical education and research.
Starting as a family medicine resident, her career progressed quickly. She became Director of the Family Medicine Residency Programme at Southside Hospital before moving on to major leadership roles across Northwell Health and Hofstra/Northwell’s School of Medicine. Her academic and clinical footprint, once regional, became national, and now global.
She has written several prestigious publications and has in-depth experience in public speaking and media engagements. She has also developed curriculum, workshops and conferences for national and global venues.
Awards and Recognitions
Over the years, Professor Iroku-Malize has received an impressive array of awards, each telling a story of commitment and influence.
Early in her career, her dedication to teaching was recognised when she earned the 2008 Teacher of the Year Award from the North Shore–LIJ Health System. This was followed by the AAFP Global Health Award in 2012, which acknowledged her expanding international footprint and her work with communities across the Caribbean and Latin America. That same year, Girls Inc. of Long Island honoured her with the Butterfly Award for her mentorship of young women and girls.
Her leadership within academia and family medicine escalated, earning her the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors Recognition Award in 2015. A year later, she received an American Academy of Family Physicians award for her work with the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services, highlighting her ability to navigate complex health systems for public good.
In 2017, she was recognised with both the Legacy Award from the 3D Studios Scholarship Programme and the Long Island Trustee Award from Energeia, celebrating her impact as both educator and community leader. The following year, she received the Almanzar Global Health Award for her service to underserved populations, particularly in the Dominican Republic and Latin America.
Her influence continued to shine publicly when she was named one of the Premier Business Women of Long Island in 2019. Most recently, in 2023, she received the STFM Advocate Award for her outstanding contribution to political advocacy and her persistent efforts to elevate family medicine at local, state and national levels.
